Mon. 17th Jul. 2017
There is much literature in place concerning the risk of older drivers. Consumer Reports indicates that younger drivers have nine times the risk of middle age drivers. Seniors have 5.5 more fatal auto accidents than middle age drivers. Either end of the driving spectrum has increased risk.
While working with a family recently, the adult children refuse to ride in the car with their parents. Further, these parents forbid their children from riding with the grandparents. In spite of this fear, the children were not willing to have a conversation with their parents or have someone else intervene on behalf of other drivers on the road.
AAA has the following recommendations for older drivers.
- Driving too slow is not safe. Driving too slow causes congestion and increases the risk of accidents. If you are uncomfortable driving on freeways, stay off them.
- Medications can affect driving due to vision changes and mental alertness. These may be psychotropics, but medications for other conditions often have drowsiness as a side effect. Talk to you healthcare provider.
- Use technology to drive safer. Back up cameras, mirrors with special inserts and forward collision warnings may help. Getting a heavier, bigger car may protect you, but it will not protect the other driver that you have an accident with.
- Be honest with the changes that you see as you age. If you are not seeing well at night, do not drive at night. If you have macular degeneration or another eye disease, common sense tells you that you are at risk. Diabetes is deadly to eyes.
The statistics are as follow. 6,165 senior drivers were killed in crashes in 2015 per the National Highway Safety Administration. 48% of seniors have not spoken to their doctor about their medication side effects per AAA. Be your own best advocate. Losing your driving privilege is not the worst thing that could happen. Think about living with the fact you were the cause of a fatal crash.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please
contact us.